Honduras President To Meet Xi Jinping In China 'Soon' After Ditching Taiwan

Honduras President Xiomara Castro will “soon” be traveling to China after a former Taiwan ally changed diplomatic camp to side with Xi Jinping. 

What Happened: The Honduran foreign ministry tweeted on Wednesday, announcing Castro's potential visit to Beijing without providing an exact date for the trip.

"President Xiomara Castro will soon travel to the People’s Republic of China for an official visit, with a view to signing auspicious agreements between both countries," the ministry said. 

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Honduras decided to cut ties with Taiwan last week and further isolate Taipei on the world stage. In a tweet, the Honduran leader said that she had instructed her foreign minister to establish official relations with China.

Following Castro’s decision, the U.S. and Taiwan issued a number of warnings to Honduras but Tegucigalpa, ignoring all those warnings, sent its top diplomat to Beijing. Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, who recently visited China, argued that the diplomatic switch was motivated by economic interests rather than ideology.

Earlier this week, Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia asked Taiwan to vacate its embassy within 30 days. Garcia said a month "is more than enough time to pack up and leave," as she announced that the Central American nation was expecting some $10 billion investment in his country in a boon for local workers.

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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